Serious coin collectors will tell you that you shouldn't clean your coin
collection because they prefer that "natural look." Unless you have no interest
in ever selling the coins, and don't care about lost value, absolutely do not
clean them.
Silver does not combine naturally with oxygen, and thus it forms no oxides.
Silver does, however become tarnished by sulfur in the air, from perspiration in
the hands, or from leather purses. This will produce, after some time, a thin
brown or black coating on the coin.
One way to prevent your silver coins from becoming tarnished in the first place
is to store them correctly.
Go here: How To Store Coins for more information about storing coins.
Most coin collectors prefer a dirty coin to a clean coin. Do not use
abrasives such as toothpaste, baking soda, etc. or acids (coca cola, etc.). If,
AND ONLY IF, you can't read the characters, you might consider the
methods below.
The simplest method to clean silver coins is by soaking them in warm soapy
water for a few hours, turning the coins over frequently. The wet coins should
then have fine household salt sprinkled over them and then be rubbed with the
fingers.
Another method is to put the coins in a lemon acid bath for a few hours
to one day maximum depending on the thickness of the tarnished coating to be
removed from the coins. After this bath clean the coins carefully with soft
brush, rinse with water and dry with soft paper.
The effect of this method can be improved by putting some small iron nails in
the lemon acid bath. This will improve the chemical reduction of the lemon acid
bath and a faster cleaning of the silver coin will occur.
If you use some small iron nails do not leave the silver coin longer in the
lemon acid bath then 30 minutes maximum.
If the silver coin you want to clean has only some small oxidation spots then
you can clean them best with an acid fluid like warm vinegar or sour milk on a
soft tissue or a raw potato cut in half and rub the coin with it. After cleaning
it rinse it well with water and dry the coin with a soft paper tissue.
Silver cleaners are available that can be used for cleaning heavy tarnished
silver coins. They clean silver coins in several seconds but should be used
carefully.
No comments:
Post a Comment